First nation in Asia to legislate an independent refugee law urged for responsible implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention
The following statement was published by the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) on 31 December 2021.
We ask the Republic of Korea, the first nation in Asia to legislate an independent refugee law, for responsible implementation of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The Republic of Korea was the first nation in Asia to enact comprehensive domestic implementing legislation of its obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention) by adopting the Refugee Act in 2012.
Regional and international refugee rights organizations have watched the proactive efforts of Korea with great expectations. However, after eight years, the situation of refugees within Korea and the government’s current efforts to amend the Refugee Act raise questions about whether Korea has accorded sufficient weight to its obligations and responsibilities as a party to the Refugee Convention.
We note with growing concern that Korea, with a consistently low refugee recognition rate comparatively, has set a new record low in 2019 with a 0.4% recognition rate. The routine practice of denial at border, in violation of international standards and provisions of the Refugee Act that provides for proper refugee status determination for all applications except for prima facie unfounded claims, has resulted in 93.1% of asylum seekers applying for asylum at the border to be denied entry to the Korean territory in 2019.
We also note that since 2015 the Korean Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has attempted to lessen the caseload by arbitrarily identifying certain cases to undergo an accelerated procedure, and during that process numerous interview reports were fabricated to lead to the conclusion that the refugees came to Korea solely for economic reasons. There has been no apology or compensation for the victims, and it is reported that many have since left Korea. [Read more here.]